Wilderness Lodge

[Disney_Belle]

Well it is official! I will be staying at the Wilderness Lodge from April 13 - 23 2006 I am so excited! Anything tips or anything and anyone want to share their past experiences from staying at the WL??? I am used to staying at the all star resorts so this is exciting for me!!!! :sohappy: :sohappy: :sohappy:

 

[luvthemagic]

Congradulations!!! We just stayed there for the first time this past December. AWSOME resort. Already planning our next trip. We had a courtyard view, which also included a very nice view of Bay Lake and the pool. You will love this resort. Definately do Wispering Canyon Cafe. The atmosphere and theming are the best, IMHO. Have fun!! :wave:

 

[ClemsonTigger]

Not to say anything negative about All Star, but I think you will have a real hard time going back! WL is a really fun experience in so many ways. The pool and sauna are great, the geiser is a wonderful touch. Restaurants add a lot of a unique perspective as well.

Take advantage of boat rides to the MK and plan on catching the Electrical Water Pageant at least one night.

For a good summary of all that is available, check out: http://www.allearsnet.com/acc/faq_wl.htm. Have a great time!

 

[tigsmom]

Great choice! The WL is my favorite resort (I've lost count of how many times we've stayed there). I have sent so many friends & family members there and everyone has loved it! You can't beat the atmosphere... its very laid back, nit rushed at all. You will often see people just lounging around on the sofas in the lobby reading, playing games or just sitting & relaxing.
The restaurants are the best... Artiste Point for a nice elegant dinner, The Whispering Canyon Cafe for a good meal & fun time (we always get the breakfast skillet) and the Roarin'Forks SnackBar has some great "quick" foods and run specials for breakfast & lunch/dinner everyday. Its not fancy, but its fast & good. My kids love the slide in the pool and you can see the Electric Water Parade from the boat dock or beach. The boats will take you to the Contemporary ( to eat, shop or hit the monorail), Fort Wilderness and the MK.
People complain about the bus service, but we have never had a problem. If you have any specific questions feel free to PM me & I'll do my best to help out. :wave:

 

[disgolfer]

You will love WL. Be sure to explore every part of the property. It is like an attraction in itself.

 

[Atlaslaw]

Artist Point is my favorite restaurant anywhere. Expensive, but worth every penny.

The theming at WL is incredible. The resort soundtrack relaxes you just walking the halls and sitting in the lobby.

I would highly recommend the Valet service for parking. It's well worth the money. It costs $6.00 per day plus tips. I'm budgeting the $42.00 for my 7 night stay coming up in February (31 days!) plus tips. You drive up to the entrance and hand off your keys. They bill it to your room. You can check your car in and out as many times as you want during the day. Just call ahead before you leave your room and your car will be waiting for you. Tipping is up to you. I tend to tip both when I drop the car off and when I pick it up. I found that the valets tend to seek you out and take really good care of you. You get a ticket to hang in the window each day that will also get you valet service anywhere else on property that has it: Grand Floridian, Animal Kingdom, etc. We found it a very valuable service. Bus transportation from WL is horrible and we drove most places for ease and convenience lugging a stroller and toddler around last time and intend to do so this time with a 10 month old and 4 year old.

The Boats to MK and Contemporary are a very nice ride and fairly dependable, though you may have to wait a bit.

My favorite thing to do at WL is to get up really early, before everybody else and just wander, or go sit in the lobby. Nothing like it.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[Snow White 610]

I must agree that once you stay at WL, it will be difficult to go back to the others. The lobby alone will take your breath away. Ask for a list of hidden Mickeys at the front desk while you're there!

 

[bgraham34]

I love WL. I would not stay anyplace else. Well I might try Yacht Club though

 

[Hakunamatata]

Notice the crickets chirping in the evening when walking from bus stop area to the main hall. That was the first thing that really caught my attention about the WL. The WL gift shop is awesome. They have some really neet stuff that you will fing nowhere else in the parks. Alot of outdoor wear, etc. Take pleanty of quarters to buy food to feed the fish off of the pier. If your room is facing the main hall, dont plan to go to sleep until well after 11:30. It acts as a drum and you hear everything that goes on, especially in Whispering Canyon. Plan to spend at least a couple of hours just looking around the main hall. There is alot of architecture, etc that is just amazing.

HAVE FUN!!!!!

 

[tigsmom]

I'll have to agree with the valet parking... we also tip both when we park & when we pick up. If you go in the summer they will have the AC up & running for you (and a window cracked to push out the hot, stale air) Its well worth the extra few dollars you spend.

Another thing I like is that people feel so at home there they will wander around early in the morning in their bathrobes & slipper to get coffee at the Roarin Forks, you will also see people sleeping on the sofas in the lobby... nobody will bother you. The huge fireplace is always going... try to get a rocker in front and enjoy some coffee, tea or hot chocolate in your re fillable mug!

 

[tigsmom]

Notice the crickets chirping in the evening when walking from bus stop area to the main hall. That was the first thing that really caught my attention about the WL. The WL gift shop is awesome. They have some really neet stuff that you will fing nowhere else in the parks. Alot of outdoor wear, etc. Take pleanty of quarters to buy food to feed the fish off of the pier. If your room is facing the main hall, dont plan to go to sleep until well after 11:30. It acts as a drum and you hear everything that goes on, especially in Whispering Canyon. Plan to spend at least a couple of hours just looking around the main hall. There is alot of architecture, etc that is just amazing.

HAVE FUN!!!!!

Did you ever notice that the crickets & bull frogs magically go to sleep at midnight? We love to feed the ducks & fish off the pier.
The first time we stayed there we had an inside room over the lobby... its quite noisy, but some people enjoy opening their door & seeing that beautiful view. We always try to stay in room 6032 (overlooking the bog & the MK and a woods view) or room 6151 ish overlooking the quiet pool. (Courtyard view)

 

[ClemsonTigger]

The one complaint you will hear (and has already been mentioned on this thread) is bus transportation. As many staying at WL are used to Poly, Contemporary or GF, yes, it is a departure from being on the monorail line, but from your experience at All Star, I don't believe you will notice a thing. Every bus pickup at every site I have been at has folks complaining if it is not there waiting for them when they arrive. In my experience they are always there within the 15-20 minutes as described. Also at WL, you should not find any lines so long so that you have to wait for 2-3 busses to collect all the folks in line.

I personally forget that I can drive while on property, so don't have experience with car issues, but suggestions offered by Tigsmom and Atlaslaw are sound.

Even when not staying at WL, we always make it over for dinner at Artists Point. I consider this equal with (the overhyped) California Grille for menu and far superior for ambiance. Wine or Port flights are a nice touch...but not both at once . If the dinner (at Artists Point) is a special occasion, let them know when making your PS as they add some nice touches.

 

[njblackberry]

Our favorite place!

We've stayed in both the Villas and the hotel. We love the Wilderness Lodge. The lobby, the geyser, the pools, the location. Love it all. Artist's Point is fantastic (as several have mentioned). We also tended to use the car/valet parking since the bus service was not as good (for us) as at some other resorts.

After a long day at the parks, nothing was more relaxing that sitting in the lobby, people watching!

 

[MR. DISNEY]

I'm a DVC member and my home resort is the WL. i have been to the lodge 8 times in 4 years. The best thing to do at the WL is the Flag Family. Ask at the front desk at check in and see if you can do it.

 

[swimmom]

We love WL. Each trip we talk about staying at a different resort and end up back at WL. On our last trip Dec 17th - 23rd. I did laundry very late on two evenings. One night when I went down to the laundry room a family was doing their Christmas gift exchange in the lobby. Both nights when I returned to our room around 1:00-2:00 a.m. there was not a sole in the lobby. I took advantage of taking some pictures of the Christmas decorations in the lobby.

I know that the resort was booked by December 20th, and it didn't feel like the resort was being overrun with people. However, PS was a must at Whispering Canyon for our entire stay. One morning I didn't think it would be a problem to eat breakfast at 10:30 and even that late in the morning required a PS.

Be sure to explore the different transportation opportunities. You can get to Epcot without a bus, but it may take a little longer. Either take the boat to Contemporary or MK, then the monorail to Ticket & Transportation and then the monorail to Epcot.

 

[Hakunamatata]

Did you ever notice that the crickets & bull frogs magically go to sleep at midnight? We love to feed the ducks & fish off the pier.
The first time we stayed there we had an inside room over the lobby... its quite noisy, but some people enjoy opening their door & seeing that beautiful view. We always try to stay in room 6032 (overlooking the bog & the MK and a woods view) or room 6151 ish overlooking the quiet pool. (Courtyard view)

Yes, I did, and even joke with my wife that they are AA crickets and frogs....in fact, I joke with my wife that all wildlife at WDW is AA..... :lookaroun

 

[Lauriebar]

Be sure to explore the different transportation opportunities. You can get to Epcot without a bus, but it may take a little longer. Either take the boat to Contemporary or MK, then the monorail to Ticket & Transportation and then the monorail to Epcot.

This absolutely works!! We too have had problems with the bus system at WL, but learned that the boat system was very reliable. We often took the boat to the Contemporary and hopped on the monorail to the TTC to catch a bus to MGM or AK or to get on the EPCOT monorail. This definately helps ease the frustration of waiting too long for your bus to arrive. I guess in the end the wait times might be similar however, I felt like if I was moving time was going by faster!!

 

[Disney_Belle]

All of you guys are getting me so excited to go! I cant wait, but you know what they say, one of the best parts in going to WDW is planning for it! One night on my last visit in APril 04 (that was my brother and I's reunion trip after being separated for 12 years) we decided to take a bus over to Wilderness Lodge and check it out. We fell in love with it it was the night before Easter and all the parents were in the lobby filling Easter baskets. and though there were about 30 people in the lobby it felt empty and so quiet! we looked around the pool and we swore we would stay there one night on our next vacation to wdw. well we started planning another trip to wdw for this coming april 2005 and decided we would stay at A.S. Sports and then we figured next year was my brothers senior year of high school and i asked him if he could wait a year and we would be able to save up enough to stay at the wilderness lodge and make a full vacation of it instead of one night. he agreed and i made my budget and all and realized we could stay for 10 nights. he is so excited! i get to put my down payment tomorrow! i am so happy! thank you guys for all the info. keep it coming! :sohappy: :sohappy:

 

[tylers5592]

congrats !

Hey
Congradulations. We stayed there and had a blast ! they usually have many activites going on. one time they brought animals to our lobby. and then another time they took out towels and folded them like animals. this is a GREAT hotel. and also we had friends who stayed at the grand floridian. and they stayed on the same floor Raven stayed on and she was filming something for the food network . there is a bus that goes from the WL to the GF so we got on the bus and followed her up and met and talked to her and her dancers for 2 hours
i hope you have a great and MaGiCaL trip
-tyler

 

[Disney_Belle]

I'm just going to stay in a standard room but is there any standard room reccomendations? Like any particular rooms?